A scanner 100, such as a CCD scanner as shown in FIG. 1, typically includes a lamp 107 and a reflector 108, a full rate carriage 103, and a half rate carriage 104 with mirrors that reflect via a lens 105 onto a sensor 106. During the scan, the full rate carriage 103 and the half rate carriage 104 are moved along a document to pick up the image information from the document. Light from the illuminator 107 is focused onto an imaging point 112 on a platen 102 and reflected off an article positioned on the platen 102 onto the sensor 106 via the imaging mirrors 109-111. The scanner 100 generally has an imaging limit as shown by plane A-A in FIG. 1, and does not scan or image right up to the edge of the scanner assembly. The imaging limit A-A is formed because it is difficult to arrange the full rate carriage 103 and the half rate carriage 104 such that the extreme left edge area of the original is properly seen and imaged onto the photosensitive surface.
Special book scanners are designed for scanning books, an example of which is shown at 200. In order to scan into the spine of a book 250 without opening the book fully and breaking the spine, book scanners 200 are generally derived from the scanner 100 by raising the platen 202 and providing sloped part 251 so that the book can be opened with the page being scanned relatively flat on the platen 202. This configuration provides for better imaging of the page area proximate the book spine. When the platen 202 is raised, as shown in FIG. 2, two optical changes are made to direct the light beams emitted by a lamp 207 to a new imaging point 212 on the raised platen 202. The first optical change is changing the focal position by modifying a sensor 206, a lens 205 and mirrors 209-211 configuration. The lamp 207, the reflector 208 and the mirror 209 are configured to move together on a full rate carriage 215. The mirrors 210 and 211 of the book copier 200 are provided on a half rate carriage 213, similarly to the scanner of FIG. 1. The second optical change is raising the illumination components up to the new height of the platen. Typically these optical changes are done by moving the lamp 207 and an associated reflector 208 in upward direction closer to the raised platen 202. Also, the book copier 200 needs additional hardware in order to raise the lamp 207 and the associated reflector 208 closer to the raised platen 202.
The current disclosure provides a scanner with a simple design that enables easy adaptation or modification of the existing image processing apparatus, without the need for repositioning the lamp and the reflector assembly.